Roland
Premieres MC-505 Groovebox: Fat Sounds, Futuristic Controls & Bold New GroovesHighly-Anticipated
MC-505 Groovebox Features Enhanced Sounds, Professional Features and Revolutionary
D-Beam Controller January
29, 1998When
Roland introduced the MC-303 Groovebox in 1996, the integrated dance music sequencer/sound
module quickly won over the hearts and speakers of groove music makers worldwide,
selling an amazing 50,000 units in just 18 months. The key to its success? Cool
dance music sounds, cutting-edge patterns, easy controls and a funky, retro styling
that everybody loved. But there were some groove music professionals who, quite
simply, wanted more... Stepping forward to deliver one of the biggest advancements
in groove music since the programmable drum machine, Roland introduces the MC-505
Groovebox. This bold new integrated sequencer/sound module picks up where the
MC-303 left off, giving groove-heads a high-performance groove-oriented sound
engine with 64-voice polyphony, precise controls, new ultra-powerful effects,
massive memory, a MEGAMIX function and the revolutionary light-sensing D-Beam
Controller. (The funky styling, of course, remained intact.) Thanks to its
64-voice polyphony and a new high-performance sound chip, the MC-505 offers 512
of the fattest sounds on the dance music scene. Twenty-six specially-created onboard
rhythm kits deliver low kicks, snares and hits galore, meaning that from the latest
lo-fi techno and hip-hop sounds to all those classic Roland drum and synth sounds
(TB-303, TR-808, TR-909, Juno, Jupiter, et al.), the MC-505's got it covered.
And to ensure that groove-heads get exactly the sound they're after, the 505 features
steep multi-mode resonant filtering, ADSR envelope controls, enhanced LFO and
Filter/ Amplifier controls and a Low Boost knob with an Octave switch (warn the
neighbors now). Making full use of these sounds, the MC-505 features 714 preset
dance music patterns, ranging from the latest Trance, Ambient, and Drum 'n' Bass
grooves to Latin, Reggae, Old-School, Funk and Hip-Hop. These patterns were developed
by some of the world's foremost sound designers, and they can be used "as is"
or edited and combined into unique new User patterns. Aiding in pattern combination
is the new MEGAMIX function, which allows for the seamless combination of distinct
parts from different patterns and songs. Even parts with wildly different tempos
and feels can be combined, offering some very powerful and unique results and
giving MC-505 users an unlimited canvas to create original patterns "on the fly."
One of the most innovative enhancements to the MC-505, however, is the revolutionary
new D-Beam Controller*. The D-Beam Controller allows musicians to control MC-505
effects, sounds and note information with hand and body movement through an invisible,
infrared beam of light. D-Beam effects include "Turntable," which can be used
to control tempo by raising or lowering the hand over the light beam; "Cutoff
& Resonance," which simultaneously controls a sound's cutoff frequency and resonance
parameters according to subtle hand motion; and "Ad Lib," which allows for improvising
melodies using one of 21 preset scales. In addition to greatly increasing the
MC-505's expressive capabilities, the D-Beam controller enhances the onstage,
visual aspects of performance. And better yet, all D-Beam control information
can be transmitted from the MC-505 via MIDI. Speaking of effects, the MC-505
features three independent, synchronizable onboard effects processors, offering
powerful reverb, chorus and delay sounds, as well as new cutting-edge effects
like: "Radio Tuning," which makes patterns sound as if they are playing over the
air; "Phonograph," for simulating record player noise; and "Slicer" for creating
rhythmic permutations of sounds. In all, 24 insert effects complement the dedicated
reverb and delay effects, with rate parameters automatically sync'd to tempo.
The MC-505's powerful onboard sequencer boasts three quantize functions-grid,
shuffle and groove-as well as a built-in Arpeggiator with 53 styles and a Realtime
Phrase Sequencer (RPS) for instant triggering of musical phrases with a single
key. Sequencer capacity has been increased to 95,000 notes, while a new SmartMedia
card slot allows for external pattern and patch storage via 2MB and 4MB SmartMedia
cards. By adding a single 4MB card, the MC-505 can store an additional 480,000
notes (200 patterns), 512 patches and 20 rhythm sets. And direct SmartMedia pattern
and song playback is possible for live performance applications. As a self-contained
professional dance music workstation, the MC-505's other features include: full
MIDI control, with knob and slider movements output via MIDI for easy editing;
sound editing while listening to phrases from an external sequencer; three stereo
audio outputs (six mono) for external processing; and a new assignable Part Mixer
for slider-based control of part level, panning, key shift, reverb and delay send
levels and MEGAMIX functions. Roland is a world leader in the design, manufacture
and distribution of electronic musical instruments, professional audio equipment,
multimedia products and music accessories. * D-Beam Controller technology has
been licensed from Interactive Light, Inc. For
more information, contact Roland Corporation U.S., 7200 Dominion Circle, Los Angeles,
CA 90040, 213.685.5141, www.rolandus.com.
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